How to beat fatigue on decision-making

How can cope with fatigue from the decision-making? There are three strategies:

• reduce the number of solutions;
• to develop a decision-making algorithm;
• create a comfortable routine.

Let us examine them in detail. Applying at least one Councilor from each strategy, you significantly increase your productivity.

Strategy № 1. Take less decisions

Food

According to one study, the day we take an average of 226 decisions related to foodMindless Eating: The 200 Daily Food Decisions We Overlook. . The simplest meal plan will save a lot of effort and is useful not only bodybuilders.

For a start during the week write down what you eat. Notice how much you eat that you prefer, usually when experiencing hunger. On the basis of these observations, develop a sample meal plan and gradually adjust it.

1. Do not forget about Diversity.
2. Prepare in advance even simple dishes like sandwiches, it will save time.
3. If you do not want to cook everything at home, make a list of favorite cafes and restaurants and plan out in advance where you are going to eat all week.

Wardrobe

Many legendary people such as Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, always wear the same clothes. It is very convenient: you once chose what to wear, and do not spend time on it.

If you find this is too categorical, use such advice.

1. Clean away all that is not wear such clothing are not suitable for the season.
2. Divide things into categories. If all the shirts or blouses hang together, do not have to look for them among the other items of clothing.
3. Prepare in advance. In the evening, watch the weather forecast for the next day, choose the right clothes and put in a prominent place.

shopping

During each trip to the store we are faced with hundreds of decisions. To reduce their number, consider the following tips.

1. Make a list of the most necessary. It should include everything that you use on a regular basis, including specific information such as the size of the package. Before you go to the store, check that you already have.
2. Constantly updated with the current list. So that nothing is forgotten (and not buy anything extra), make items in the list, when you notice that the stocks are suitable to an end. This list may include the necessary things that we buy is not very often (toothpaste, light bulbs), or one-time purchases (gifts).
3. Select one brand. Defining favorite brands and is focused on the products of other manufacturers, you will save a lot of time and effort.
4. Compose your shopping list, focusing on the location of the goods in the store. For example, if the fresh fruits and vegetables are close to the entrance, put them top of the list. This significantly reduce the time spent in the store.
5. Less often go to the store. Rather than run into the shop every evening, procuring all at once, for example at the weekend.
6. Reduce your online shopping. Nothing is more harmful to productivity, as the morning is spent on their attempt to select one item out of several thousand that correspond to your request on AliExpress.

communication

If you spend a lot of time with half-hearted people, it can deplete your ability to make decisions. Try to communicate more frequently with those who will not constantly shift on you making decisions.

Of course, absolutely exclude communication with the indecisive people is impossible. Try to change your approach to them.

1. Make decisions in turn. Easier for people to make a choice when they know that you share the burden. If you often have to decide something together, offer to do it at a time.
2. Ask offer two options. Sometimes people are hesitant do not offer one or the other option, fearing that it would hurt their reputation. So ask them to propose two options, and select one of them.
3. Praise them. Always nice when someone praises our choice. Then the next time will be given to the decision easier.

for computer work

While working at the computer, we take a lot of imperceptible at first sight solutions. Here's how to fix it.

1. Change the look of the new tab. Every time you open a new tab in your browser, we see frequently visited pages, bookmarks, or even advertising - all this leads us to choose and make decisions. Change the look of the new tabs to it displays any inspiring picture, Or even make it blank.
2. Simplify desktop view. If your desktop littered with papers and labels, every time you have to decide whether to open them or not. Remove all documents in the folder (or at least the "Documents"). If they have accumulated a lot, take the time and understand them.
3. Hide rarely used applications. If, in order to run the application on a smartphone or tablet, you first have to find it among a heap of shortcuts, so you once again have to make unnecessary decisions. Create a folder (or select a separate screen) for infrequently used applications, and view, leave only the most important.

Strategy № 2. Develop algorithm for decision-making

Simply reducing the number of decisions in your life, you do not get rid of the problem completely. To reduce stress, develop their own decision-making process.

Break every decision on the two options

Charles Duhigg (Charles Duhigg) in his book "Eight Rules for Effective: smarter, faster, better"Advises smash every possible choice of two options.

For example, consider a situation where you need to quickly decide where to dine.

1. Eat at home or in a restaurant? The restaurant.
2. Take food with you or sit at a table? At the table. (It remains to solve the problem with the price.)
3. Expensive restaurant or institution with the average prices? With average. (Most likely, these criteria correspond to only two or three of your favorite restaurant.)
4. Mexican or Italian food? Mexican. (That's all!)

Use lists of ready-made solutions

Atul Gawande (Atul Gawande) wrote a whole book about the use of checklists, including where told that the pilots US Air Force equipped with check-lists for all occasions. They painted the steps to be taken in some critical situations.

Try it and you create for themselves such lists. During the week, write down, what decisions you encounter and which ultimately chosen. For example:

• what questions you always ask potential clients and that you meet;
• What questions always have to solve at home;
• from what you usually refuse invitations.

At the end of the week see which decisions have to be taken frequently, and create a simple spreadsheet with your responses. The next time when you will need to make a decision, just take a look at your table. Over time, you will remember it and will spend the decision-making even less time.

Plan decision

Getting ready for a new day, please note the following tips.

1. Plan complex work in the morning. Willpower with each decision being depletedThe strength model of self-control. , So spend it wisely.
2. Make decisions after eating. According to some studies, the force will largely depend on the level of glucoseSelf-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: Willpower is more than a metaphor. . Therefore, for an important meeting in the afternoon. And yet, try snacking during every hour or two.
3. Plan a simple task for the evening. For example, the decision to wear tomorrow. You can kill an hour to choose the "perfect" dress, so leave it at night when you are too tired to spend time searching for the best option.

Determine the cost of each solution

Very often we spend willpower on useless financial decisions. For example, half an hour to choose what to buy a shampoo, a little more or a little less, or doubt whether to spend money for gatherings with friends. At the same time we do not realize that all this costs us efficiency.

Researchers from Princeton University found that the price comparison in the store depletes the ability to control his behaviorEconomic Decision-making in Poverty Depletes Behavioral Control. . Therefore, we have a snack and pull something sweet during long shopping trips.

Here are three steps to help you determine the price of each solution.

1. Set the value of their time. Moreover, it must be high, for example $ 100 per minute.
2. Determine how much money is at stake. For example, if the shampoo you can save about $ 100, do not spend on his choice of more than one minute.
3. Trust your instincts. Make decisions quickly and be glad that saved time and willpower.

Plan in advance

There are decisions that must be taken every few days or weeks. If you ever doubt what movie to see or what to wear, plan for such decisions in advance. Here, for example, five areas that can simplify and automate.

Food

Compose a meal plan for the month ahead. Not only record what the dish is ready, but just prepare lists of needed products.

Entertainment

Keep a list of books, movies and music, so every day is not to decide what to read, watch and listen.

training

Plan in advance your training to include in the plan, not only their usual exercise, but something new.

Gifts

In order not to run to the shops for a few days before the holidays, spend a couple of hours and write down gift ideas for the whole year ahead.

My

Come up beforehand, where to go with the second half. This may seem too pragmatic, but when you run out of ideas, you can always look at the list and find something interesting.

Strategy № 3. Create your own schedule

To increase productivity, you need to convert some of their actions in the templates. Each template will simplify (or completely eliminate) one or more solutions. Of course, this does not mean you have to turn into a robot, or that all days should be similar to each other. However, the finished order will save you a lot of time.

Morning and evening rituals

In the morning, we are particularly vulnerable. Willpower we still have in abundance, and if squander it on minor decisions, we will be heavier during the day. In the evening, will power and ability to make decisions, on the contrary, depleted, so it is likely that you zasiditsya late watching TV shows or reading some nonsense on the Internet.

Here's a simplified way to create a morning and evening rituals.

1. Define the trigger. For most people, the morning ritual begins with a wake-up call, this is their trigger. You it can be any other thing that he repeated every day. Evening ritual can begin from the moment you get home.
2. Determine the award. If the ritual you do not expect any reward, you will be much more difficult to observe it. Can enter the prize immediately after the ritual (for example, a cup of coffee in the morning, a dessert in the evening) or move to the end of the ritual, what you do and so happy (in the morning - training in the evening - reading book).
3. Determine specific steps. Think carefully about and write them down. You need to know what will be busy every minute of the ritual. But do not stretch it for 45 minutes - this is the maximum.
4. Remove any obstacles. Think about what may prevent you during a morning or an evening ritual, and try to eliminate these causes. The less you will have obstacles, the less will have to take decisions and the easier and faster everything will turn out.
5. Practice.

training

Training is not only beneficial to health. According to one study, exercise increases our productivityThe association between work performance and physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and obesity. .

Instead of making a decision on a daily basis, to go or not to go to the gym and worry about it, use the advice known blogger James Klier: create a rule for himself.

I do not look forward to his willpower, do not expect to be able to bring myself to go to the gym. It's just a place where I always go in the evening on Mondays.

James Clear

Here are a few tips.

1. Takes less. Reduce the amount of training to the minimum necessary, and reduce the number of days when you do. So it will be easier to stick to the schedule.
2. Plan for a month. If you are not sure that hang on for a month, yet reduce the time of training.
3. Be prepared to change the schedule. If some unforeseen circumstances violated it, do not miss the workout, move it to another time.

communication

Remember how often someone writes you in the middle of the day and invites you to go somewhere in the evening and you have to spend time to make a decision. It takes precious energy and strength of will, which you could spend to solve business issues. But it is much more pleasant it would be to spend time with friends, not forcing yourself to make decisions.

Of course, the idea is to plan ahead for time with family and friends will not please everyone. This approach may appear cold and insensitive. But someone it will help to spend with loved ones more time and experience at the same time a sense of guilt.

• Plan your time with people who matter. Each week, check with friends, convenient to all the meeting and mark it in your calendar.
• Ignore everything else. Do not attend the event, if it was not planned in advance (of course, except for any force majeure).

You will look forward to time with my friends, and all the unexpected invitation will be able to answer with a clear conscience: "No, but I can tomorrow / weekend / next week."

List of the main tasks for the week

Make it a rule every week, make a list of the main tasks. It includes up to three most important things to do on each day of the week.

1. Start with the big goal. Determine specific goal for the year to which you aspire. So you will know exactly what is most important for you in the near future.
2. Define the following steps. Each month, ask yourself what steps you can do on the way to goal and breaks it up into to-do list. From it you will be able to choose the case for a week.
3. Distribute the load. When you already have a rough schedule for the week, adds an important task for every day. Do not fill out a weekly plan with small chores. The smaller the cases scheduled for the day, the less will have to take decisions.
4. Take time to evaluate. At the end of the working week assess what you have achieved, and set goals for the next week. It's enough to just 20 minutes.

To-do list for the day

Making a list for the day, consider the following points.

• Include downtime. If your schedule is added to such a time, you do not have to decide what business to move to fulfill an urgent order or deal with unexpected problems. If you will have free time, just proceed to the next item in the list.
• Maintain a list of current tasks. Add to this list the case as soon as they come to your mind. So you will not forget anything.

Finally

This approach gives a huge advantage: you know exactly what you are doing every minute of every day. And since you have built into your workout schedule, free time and chat, you will be able to enjoy these things without experiencing feelings of guilt. And most importantly, you do not have to every day to make decisions you have already decided everything before starting work.

After spending a scheduled working hours to unplanned things, especially for such tedious, as a solution to what to do next - is a crime.